Fundraiser started for Kelowna foreign aid worker trapped in Haiti

A fundraiser has been started to help a Kelowna woman leave a foreign country due to civil unrest.

Laura Allan has spent nearly 12 years working in Haiti to improve the lives of the people there as a foreign aid worker, according to a GoFundMe page.

Now, she is trapped there due to heavy blockades and protests with no access for food or water without risking her life, the GoFundMe said.

“I’ve spent close to 12 years working here trying to better the conditions and improve lives. I’ve never seen this country erupt like this. Even the cholera epidemic (UN caused) never brought the country to its knees.

“But now it is frankly more crippled than the times of the quake. At least in the earthquake there was solidarity and neighbours helped neighbours. Haitians travelled to help other Haitians,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Last week, the federal government issue an advisory warning Canadians not to travel to the country due to civil unrest.